How to be a Happy Employee

As we near the end of our discussion on entrepreneurship, it’s only natural that we look at the other side of the equation, which involves remaining an employee within your company. With the lack of objective definition it’s easy to become unhappy in the workplace. Everywhere you turn you see pieces on quitting your job and becoming self-employed. Today I wanted to look at some ways that you can become a happy employee and not worry about leaving your work any time soon.

Set an objective definition.

It could be the lack of goals or objective definition that’s holding you back from being happy as an employee. Do you have an end goal? Have you set short to medium term goals? Do you have a long term plan? I find with being an employee that you need to set goals for yourself because at the end of the day you work for ME Inc. Nobody will ever care about your financial situation as much as you do. The only way to secure a strong future financial situation is to set specific goals for yourself. Do you want to move into management in the future? Do you want to use your current employer has a reference for a dream job when you’re older? If you set some clear cut objectives you’ll find yourself more happy and motivated as an employee.

Try to work your way up the ranks.

Entrepreneurship is popular, but why isn’t intrapreneurship common? Rarely do we see pieces on moving up within a company and leading a team. You can easily become a leader in your company by undertaking challenging projects and motivating others. You’ll become much more happier as an employee once you see your peers are looking up to you and taking direction from you. If there’s a lack of growth opportunities in your current place of employment, it’s time that you switch to a new job so that you can experience what it feels like to be a happy employee once again.

Learn from others.

Whenever I start a new job or anything new in life my goal is to try to learn from others. At one point we will be a beginner at something and someone else out there will be at the advanced level. I find it to be exciting trying to go from beginner to advanced, in any area of life. This is the same as investing for beginners and getting started with your new life. When you start with your company you might just be the intern or hold some mundane job. The thrill comes in moving up the ranks and learning from others. Some will just complain and moan about their position. Those that are truly ambitious will do whatever they can to learn from others and improve their position.

Once you do everything you can to improve your experience at work you can try out some other ideas at home to ensure that you’ll remain a happy employee.

Work on side projects.

I suggest that you try to keep yourself busy with projects that inspire you. Your 9-5 job can be your source of income. Then when you get home you can work on your side business or projects around the house that you really want to get done. When you have money coming in, it becomes much easier to invest money in yourself and side hobbies. You can also become a much happier employee when you realize that your full-time job is allowing you to enjoy other areas of yourself.

Take care of yourself.

Finally you need to start taking proper care of yourself. Working out and eating well will make you feel happier overall. The reason that you hate your current job could be caused by something as simple as your poor eating habits or lack of proper rest. Don’t let these hold you back from enjoying your job.

At the end of the day I want to stress that being a happy employee is possible and realistic. Too many people are jumping on the self-employed bandwagon and bashing 9-5 jobs.

Where do you guys stand? Are you a happy employee or do you want to try out the world of self-employment?

If you enjoyed this piece then I strongly urge you to check out the other articles in this series:

About Us

What color is the US currency? It’s Green. What is the most content creature on the planet? Well, frankly the Panda is one of them. And what happens when a bunch of kids enter a Treehouse? Well they play fort, have a good time and otherwise bond and become better friends. If any of this seems like a stretch, it shouldn’t be, because that’s the namesake and origins behind Green Panda Treehouse.